On Monday, 15-year-old Borges pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge in the death of 16-year-old Paulino. According to The Grio, Borges had visited the home of the victim on one occasion before his disappearance on November 18.

Paulino’s grandmother, Ivelisse Cornielle, cried, “We are poor, we are Hispanic, they considered this a normal runaway case. I told them from day one that it wasn’t. It’s my pain!” The mourning grandparent also says she can’t help but wonder if her grandson would be alive if police had not ignored the case from the beginning.

Mathew Borges is being held at a youth detention facility and is due back in court January 10. He is being prosecuted as an adult.